Merry Mixer Ride Model Documents

Main Document

Anyone who has ridden "The Scrambler" ride at an amusement park will be familiar with the system depicted in this simulation. The Merry Mixer Ride Model shows the interaction of two superimposed circular motions. The main frame of the ride rotates in one direction, while a second rotation at the ends of the frame arms carries the riders in an additional circular motion, usually in the opposite direction. Students can control the two rotation rates and the radii of the two orbits. Horizontal force vectors can be displayed, as well as a graph of the g-force on the rider vs. time. What parameters will give the maximum acceleration to the riders? What parameters will cause riders to crash into the center pole? The simulation is formatted in 3D to allow users to change their visual perspective.

The Merry Mixer Ride Model was created using the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) modeling tool. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive. Double clicking the jar file will run the program if Java is installed.